


The Silence

by sssssssim



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Derek Has Feelings, Fluff, Karaoke, M/M, Magic!Stiles, POV Derek, Songfic, it's also off screen, there's a witch, violence but only off screen, which he's unaware about
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-11-28
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:25:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sssssssim/pseuds/sssssssim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of the 5 days it took Derek to realize what was in front of him. And this is the story of the day after.<br/>Featuring a witch, elaborate speeches from Stiles, a Chanel wallet and karaoke.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Silence

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know. I can't stop listening to Bastille. So I had the karaoke scene in my head, but it was way out of context, so I built it up from that. As always, no beta. Constructive criticism is always welcome here.  
> Here's my [tumblr](http://sssssssim.tumblr.com/post/68360339081/the-silence-this-is-the-story-of-the-5-days-it).

  __  


_DAY 1_

It’s been a month since Derek came back to Beacon Hills. Again. He’s been gone for a couple of months, but this time, his return was different. For the first time in the last few years, he felt like he found his place.

And his place was, surprisingly enough, in Scott’s pack. With Isaac, Lydia, Stiles and, even more surprisingly, with Allison Argent. A true Alpha, two betas, one born, one made. A banshee, a hunter and… a Stiles. Their Stiles. And Derek, he actually got along with all of them. Some more than others, of course. But it was nice, feeling like he belonged somewhere.

Sometimes, Derek thought about it. How he ended up here, alongside Scott McCall, being part of his pack. Sometimes, Derek found reasons and explanations. Other times, he didn’t want to think about it, so he just took it as it was, as a fact. This was one of those times.

They were all in his loft, hunched over maps and books and laptops, trying to find a solution to get rid of the witch that was killing random people in the woods. They didn’t have a reasonable plan, not yet. Derek saw how frustrated they all were, but he almost smiled seeing how hard they were trying.

‘I’ve got it!’, Stiles’ voice interrupted his thoughts, and when Derek looked up, he saw the boy with his fist in the air and a big grin on his face, even though his hair was a messy nest, and the dark bags under his eyes made his face look even paler.

‘What?’, Scott asked.

‘It’s a spell. A simple little blood spell. I find her, bleed on the ground, say a few words, and ding-dong the witch is dead!’, Stiles explained excitedly.

‘What does that mean?’, Lydia narrowed her eyes. ‘How will she die?’

‘Well, not so much dead as deleted from this realm of existence.’

‘Why can’t we just claw her throat?’, Isaac whined.

‘She’s too old’, Stiles waved a hand dismissively. ‘Normal killing methods don’t really work on creatures as ancient as her. You can only fight magic with magic’, he shrugged as if that was a normal thing to say.

Derek sighed. Audibly. And he got up from his chair, taking a few steps towards Stiles. ‘Can you even do a spell like this?’

‘Of course’. Stiles wasn’t lying, his heart beat was steady.

‘You said it’s a blood spell. Those are dangerous.’, Derek pointed out. ‘Even if you could manage to do it, what’s stopping the witch from killing you the second she sees you?’

‘Us.’, Scott said. ‘We’ll be there and she’ll be too busy fighting us to notice Stiles.’

‘Neah, that won’t work.’, Stiles shook his head. ‘She’ll see you, she’ll kill you instantly.’

Derek sighed again, while Scott frowned. ‘So what you’re saying is that you want to go alone into the woods, confront an extremely old and extremely powerful evil witch, all by yourself.’, Derek said with a harsh tone.

‘I can do it’, Stiles said, believing it.

‘Absolutely not’, Derek said, maybe a little more forcefully than he should have.

‘I agree.’, Lydia nodded. ‘It’s too dangerous.’

‘We’ll find something else’, Scott said, going back to look through the book he was reading.

‘No, we won’t.’, Stiles said, slowly, staring down at his Alpha.

‘We have to find something else, Stiles’, Derek patted him on the shoulder on his way to the kitchen. ‘You’re not going there alone.’

‘I am telling you, there is no other way. Only magic fights magic.’

The urgency in Stiles’ voice is what tipped Derek off. He turned around and narrowed his eyes at his pack mate. ‘And what makes you so sure you can do magic?’

Stiles blinked, surprised.

‘Werewolves are magic too, you know’, Derek continued, his voice hard. ‘Just a little bit, that’s true, but it’s magic nonetheless. Banshees too. Humans? Not so much.’

Stiles lifted an eyebrow. ‘I can do magic.’

‘Humans? Not so much.’, Derek repeated.

‘I can do magic, Derek’, he said more softly than before. ‘You’ve seen me doing magic.’

‘Every human can handle mountain ash, Stiles’, the wolf rolled his eyes.

‘Not like that’.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, until Derek shook his head. ‘You’re not doing this.’

‘But I can do it, I’m the only one who can and you know it.’

‘We can’t risk you screwing it up’, Derek said with a sense of finality. ‘We can’t risk something going wrong and we can’t risk you.’

Stiles took a step backwards and blinked a couple of times. Then, he smiled, and it was one of the saddest things Derek ever saw.

‘You still don’t trust me enough to think I’m actually capable of something’, Stiles said, laughing sarcastically.

That is not what Derek meant. The truth was so far away from that, but Derek couldn’t find the words to say anything. It happened from time to time, always with Stiles. He just couldn’t tell Stiles what he wanted. His brain was scrambling for words that wouldn’t come out, and it always left him feeling mad. And sad.

So he just closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

‘Look, let’s…’, Scott began, making his way between the two of them. ‘It’s late, very late. Let’s just all go home, sleep for a couple of hours. And we’ll come back here early in the morning, let’s say 7, and figure out what we’re gonna do. Okay?’, he looked hopeful between Stiles and Derek.

‘Sounds great’, Derek agreed.

‘Okay, sure.’, Stiles smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes.

That night, after everyone left, Derek tried to figure out what happened. He was sure things changed between him and Stiles tonight. And god damn it, they were doing so well. Derek actually liked the kid these days. Stiles didn’t annoy him anymore; he amused Derek more than anything else, more than everybody else. And in the month he’s been back, Derek realized that he and Stiles have a lot of things in common. Not just taste in music or liking the same pizza topping, but the grief and guilt that ate at both of their hearts. And the need to help those around them. They understood each other and somehow, they’ve learned how the other thinks. Derek did consider Stiles his friend, not just his pack mate. He trusted him and he wanted him by his side.

So what happened?

Derek had no idea, but he figured it was his fault.

 

_DAY 2_

The next morning, all the pack was at Derek’s apartment, come 7 am. Except Stiles.

Derek had a bad feeling, so he called him. ‘Sorry, sorry, I’ll be there in 10 minutes’, Stiles said, sounding out of breath. It didn’t calm Derek down. And he was proven right the moment Stiles stepped into the loft, a white bloodied towel wrapped around his left arm.

‘What happened?’, Scott asked, urgently, as he made his way towards Stiles. Derek couldn’t move.

‘Ding-dong the witch is dead’, Stiles grinned.

‘You’re bleeding’, Scott removed the towel and they were able to see a 2 inch gash on his forearm.

‘Just a flesh wound. Nothing Allison can’t clean up and bandage.’

While the hunter gathered supplies, Lydia made her way towards Stiles and slapped him on the back of his head. ‘You’re an idiot. And I am going home where I don’t have to deal with your stupidity and stubbornness. Scott, want a ride?’

‘Yes please’, the Alpha sighed. ‘Don’t ever do that again. You were lucky.’, he told Stiles, tightening his grip on his shoulder. ‘We’re a pack, Stiles. Get that through your head. This is not a one man operation, nor will it ever be.’

‘It worked.’, was all Stiles said.

‘You’re bleeding. It might not be bad now, but next time….’, Scott sighed.

‘I’m sorry, Scott’, Stiles said, softly. ‘But it had to be done.’

‘Just get some sleep’. Scott hugged Stiles and rushed to catch up with Lydia.

Derek didn’t say anything while Allison cleaned Stiles’ wound, and after she and Isaac left, Derek still didn’t manage to say anything.

‘Don’t look at me like that.’, Stiles scoffed from the couch.

‘Like what?’

‘Like you’re disappointed. Like you’re disappointed that I saved the day singlehandedly, that I killed a centuries old witch, that I did magic and that I ended it all. Don’t you dare look at me like that. Don’t you dare be mad at me.’ By the time he was finished, Stiles was breathing heavily and his knuckles were white.

‘I’m not disappointed’, Derek shook his head. ‘I’m mad. So mad.’

‘I did what I had to do.’, Stiles whispered. ‘You would’ve done the same.’

‘You went alone. With no backup. You got hurt, you could’ve died.’

‘I got hurt because I cut myself, it was part of the spell. She didn’t lay a finger on me’, Stiles laughed. ‘She didn’t even see me coming.’

‘She could have.’, Derek yelled. ‘She could have killed you and I wasn’t there to save you! Just like I wasn’t there to save them!’

He stumbles back from the force and shock of his words. He takes a deep breath and looks at Stiles. ‘I never said that out loud before.’, he whispers.

Stiles closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He gets up from the couch and makes his way towards the door.

‘I don’t always need you to save me, Derek.’, Stiles said in a cold voice. ‘You better get that in your head. I am not useless. I can’t do the things you do, but I can do things you can’t. I’m stronger than I used to be and I wish you people would stop treating me like I’m made out of glass. That… That makes _me_ mad.’

And then, he was gone.

And Derek was left, once again, feeling mad at himself. Because he didn’t want to say ‘I wasn’t there to save you’, he wanted to tell Stiles ‘I can’t lose you.’

 

_DAY 3_

When Derek wakes up the next morning, he stumbles to the kitchen, in desperate need for coffee. He stops dead in his tracks when he sees Stiles putting bacon on two plates on the table. There are also eggs and toast, and two big mugs of coffee.

‘Shouldn’t you be in school?’, is what he manages to say.

‘Took a day off’, Stiles shrugged. ‘Sit down, let’s have breakfast.’

Derek feels cornered, but he does as instructed. He starts eating his food, expecting Stiles to say something. He doesn’t. He just sits in his chair, eating his food, smiling up at Derek every now and then. But his heart is beating faster than it usually does and he smells a bit off. Scared and excited.

‘What’s wrong?’, Derek asks as softly as he can.

Stiles looks up and smiles. ‘I have some things I need to say to you. But, honestly, I’m not brave enough for them yet.’

Derek frowns. ‘You don’t have to…’

‘No’, Stiles interrupts him. ‘No, let’s just eat breakfast while I run through my speech again and we’ll talk after, okay?’

‘There’s a speech?’, Derek blinks.

‘Oh, is there.’, Stiles winks.

Derek keeps his mouth shut and keeps eating, but there’s an emptiness in his stomach. He’s afraid of what Stiles has to tell him, and the moment he realizes that, it makes him even more afraid.

After they finish eating, Stiles gets up and clears the table, piling up the dishes in the sink. Derek doesn’t move much, he just stays in his chair, trying to keep his breathing normal, clenching his fists in his lap.

Stiles turns around and leans on the counter. He smiles at Derek, and that comforts the wolf, even if just a little.

‘You have to let me talk’, Stiles starts. ‘I told you, there’s a speech. I just need to get it out, please don’t interrupt me or I’ll have a meltdown on your kitchen floor and we don’t want that’, he laughs softly. ‘Okay? I’ll let you… talk after I’m done. Promise.’

‘Okay’, Derek nods and frowns even more.

Stiles takes a deep breath and crosses his hands over his chest. He’s not looking at Derek as he talks, he stares at the floor. His tone is soft, but his heartbeat hasn’t slowed down.

‘I’m different than when we first met. You know that. A lot of things happened, a lot of things changed and we’ve all changed. You know this, cause you were there. And, in a weird twist of fate, you know me.‘

Derek frowns at that, even if Stiles doesn’t see it.

‘You know me. We’re friends. That’s how it is now. And I am grateful for that. But… I get that you’re protective, I get that you want to keep me alive and safe, but I’m not as helpless as I was.’

Stiles’ voice is strong, but he still doesn’t look at Derek. He’s blinking fast and his fingers are digging into his ribcage.

‘I know…’, he sighs. ‘I know you know that I’m not okay. You all see it. I know I don’t talk about it, about the nightmares, the occasional hallucinations and… all the clusterfuck that followed the nemeton. You’re all walking on eggshells around me, expecting me to break and I get that. I’m thankful for it, I’m thankful for having you guys by my side. You’re helping, believe me when I tell you that you are helping me, just by being there. But, Derek… I can’t sit on the sidelines just in case I might break down.’

Derek sits up. ‘Stiles-‘

‘No. I’m talking. You promised.’, Stiles meets his eyes and Derek sees rage. He sags back into his chair in defeat, and Stiles looks away, speaking at the floor once more.

‘And it’s not even about that right now. That isn’t important to me. It hurt me yesterday, yes, but I know that at the end of the day you’ll all get your heads out of your asses and realize the things that I can do.’

Stiles pauses and looks up. Derek nods.

‘As I said, that’s not important to me now.’ Stiles takes a deep breath and lets his hands fall to his sides. ‘You are. You are important to me.’, he looks down at the floor. ‘I only figured it out since you came back and since we’ve actually been friends, but, really… It feels like it’s been a long time coming.’

‘I said you didn’t trust me, but I know that’s not the case. You just wanted to protect me. I understand that, because I feel the same every single time you draw out your claws.’

He’s speaking with a bit more force now, even if he doesn’t look at Derek. Stiles’ heart beat is still fast, and it’s so loud in Derek’s ears. He’s glad Stiles told him not to speak, because he’s not sure if he’d manage to talk and breathe at the same time.

‘And that’s the thing with us, isn’t it? Since day 1. Well, no, since about day 3. I always keep saving you. And you always keep saving me. You’ve been doing it for the past month and you didn’t even realize it’, he laughs.

‘And that shouldn’t have happened’, he says sadly. ‘Dude, you… I’m supposed to be the comic relief of this group. I’m supposed to be the one with bad jokes and puns, the one who always gets his foot in his mouth and annoys everyone. But when you’re there, I can’t do that. Look at me now, reciting this big ass speech without any sarcasm or bad wolf jokes‘, he finally looks up.

‘All I ever do when you’re in the room is look at you and think about you. About all the things you’ve been through and how they’ve made you the man you are today. And about how I like you, I genuinely like you and about how much I treasure your friendship. Because I know, I know, Derek. That you see me as your friend. And I am so grateful that we’ve ended up here after everything, just the spark of this thought helps me fight this stupid darkness.’

He looks so raw, Derek thinks. Stiles has always been so passionate about everything, and now he looks like he’s bursting out of his skin. And he isn’t lying, not at all.

‘But now’, Stiles laughs and runs a hand through his hair. ‘Now I have to screw that all up. I’m going to screw this friendship up, one way or another, because I respect it too much. I can’t lie to you, not anymore, not about anything.’

‘What…’, Derek whispers, but he can’t finish.

Stiles smiles. ‘I care about you. More than I should. More than everyone else. Differently than everyone else.’

Derek stops breathing.

Stiles shrugs. ‘I’m not… I don’t… If you’d want to try… With me. I’d like that and I think we could do it, we could work. Or something... If not, I just hope we can go back to being friends.’

That sounds like a line from a bad romcom, Derek thinks. He expects Stiles to say more, but he doesn’t. Stiles just bites his lips and shoves his hands into his pockets, smiling at Derek, expectantly.

Derek stares. At Stiles’ face, at the hope in his eyes and the caring underneath it. At his long, soft hair, that always looks exactly right on the pillows on Derek’s bed. At Stiles’ long neck, such a weak spot, but so warm and inviting. And at Stiles’ skinny body, that Derek knows is stronger than it seems under all those layers.

It’s only when his eyes drift towards the bandage of Stiles’ arm when Derek realizes he wants more. He wants more than just being Stiles’ friend, because the thought of losing him nearly drove him crazy yesterday. Because today, the thought of Stiles in someone else’ arms makes him want to draw blood.

‘Please say something’, Stiles whispers, stepping closer, now just a table between them.

'No’, Derek says, as cold as he can manage, staring at where Stiles’ hands lay on the table, long pale fingers on the dark wood.

Stiles closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. ‘Say it to my face.’

Derek looks up and locks eyes with Stiles. He’s crying, fighting to keep the tears back, and Derek can’t stand the sight of it. So he looks down.

‘I’ll hurt you.’

‘No. Not like that you won’t.’, Stiles says, and he believes it.

Derek sighs. ‘Stiles, I can’t… I won’t… I can’t find my words around you. You… you make me dumb.’

Stiles laughs after a couple of beats, and Derek chuckles too, because that has to be the most idiotic thing he’s ever said in his life.

Stiles lifts his cup of coffee and drinks the last of it. ‘I’ll go. This didn’t happen, okay?’

Derek looks up and manages to nod.

Then, Stiles is gone. Derek moves to wash the dishes, but ends up breaking all of them.

He spends the day in bed, with the curtains closed and the light off. He wants Stiles, now more than ever. He thinks about it, and understands it, all of it. It hits him, how what everything that happened between them led them here. But he can’t take the risk, because Derek would hurt Stiles. It’s unavoidable.

He hurts everyone around him, sooner or later.

 

_DAY 4_

Somehow, Derek manages to fall asleep that night. Late in the morning, but he gets a few hours of sleep, until he’s woken up by his phone ringing.

‘ello?’, he growls.

‘Oh, did I wake you?’, Lydia says, sweetly. ‘I’m sorry, I assumed you wouldn’t be asleep considering its 11 am.’

‘I overslept. Apparently’, he says, sitting up, not getting out of bed just yet.

‘Well, not that you’re up, I might as well continue this conversation. My birthday is tomorrow.’

‘Happy birthday?’, Derek asks, confused, when she doesn’t elaborate.

‘Thank you, but you shouldn’t tell me that today. You should tell me that tomorrow. At 8pm, at The Wire.’

Derek blinks. ‘That’s… the karaoke club downtown.’

‘Yes. And you will be joining the rest of the pack in a wannabe party on my behalf.’

‘I thought you were the type of person who throws actual parties for occasions, not… go pub crawling for your birthday.’

Lydia laughs. It sooths Derek’s heart, just a little. He doesn’t know when he started caring about Lydia, but pack doesn’t need explanations nowadays. At least in his books.

‘I usually am’, she says. ‘But I’m lazy this year and, if I’m being completely honest, I just want something small. With the people that matter.’

‘That’s nice.’, Derek can’t help but smile.

‘It is. And Stiles says the club is nice too. Karaoke should be fun, right? So. You’ll be there at 8, but you’ll pick up Scott on your way. Allison is coming with Isaac, and Stiles will be picking me up.’

The mention of Stiles makes Derek’s smile falter.

‘Lydia, I don’t think…’

‘No’, she says. ‘No, you’ll be there. I don’t care what happened between you and Stiles, you’ll be there.’

Derek’s heart skips a beat. ‘What did he tell you?’

‘Nothing.’, Lydia sighs. ‘He wouldn’t tell me anything. I just assumed it had something to do with you. He says you two are fine, though. And I tend to believe Stiles. So you’re coming.’

Derek rolls his eyes. ‘I know better than to argue.’

‘Yes you do.’, Lydia laughs. ‘See you tomorrow.’

Derek gets up and heads to the bathroom. Stiles said he’ll act like nothing happened, and Derek has to do that too. It’s the least he could do for him at this point.

He takes a shower, eats some breakfast and two cups of coffee and heads to the mall, no idea of what he could buy Lydia. On his way there, he changes his mind, and heads to a little boutique near the library. Laura and his mother used to love it, and he knows it’s still there. He vaguely remembers that the lady who owns it has a husband who works in France, so they have a lot of expensive, unique things. He feels incredibly awkward going in, but the old lady smiles at him and offers her help.

He tries to explain Lydia’s style to her, but he fails miserably. In the end, he just tells her that he’s looking for a gift for Lydia Martin and the old lady grins, saying she’s a regular. Of course, Derek thinks. He assures her that money is not an issue, and after a few debates, they decide on a simple, leather, black Chanel wallet. The interior is hot pink, and it’s functional enough to actually serve its purpose. So Derek buys it and asks the shop keeper to add a bright pink ribbon on the black Chanel bag. He puts a 20$ bill inside of it and a card that just says ‘Derek’.

He leaves the store with a smile on his face, but the seconds he steps outside and sees a random guy in a red hoodie, all the events of yesterday come back, and he has to take a deep breath to calm himself down.

‘I have to do this. For Stiles.’

 

_DAY 5_

Derek convinces himself that he’s man enough to face Stiles, so he puts on a dark blue sweater, picks Scott up, and gets to the karaoke club at 5 past 8. Lydia and Stiles are already there.

Scott hugs them both and hands Lydia a fancy-looking journal. She grins and kisses her Alpha’s cheek. Things get awkward for half a second between Derek and Stiles. Until Stiles rolls his eyes and playfully kicks him in the arm. Derek smiles and winks when Stiles’ eyes grow wide when he sees the gift bag.

He hugs Lydia and kisses her forhead, telling her how beautiful she looks, even if she’s wearing just a simple black dress with pink heels. She eyes the bag uncertain, but squeals and hugs him forcefully after she sees what’s inside. Then, she gives him a big kiss on his cheek, complete with a  _mwaaaah_ sound effect, that leaves Derek blushing. It doesn't help when Stiles wipes his cheek with a napkin, removing traces of red lipstick. Scott just laughs.

Allison and Isaac appear soon after, and they all order drinks. Derek ends up sitting between Lydia and Isaac, Allison on his other side, with Scott and Stiles in front of them.  They banter back and forth, drink their drinks, throw peanuts around, sing along to the karaoke songs, and just enjoy each other’s company. Derek feels safe.

‘Stiles’, Lydia purrs next to him, leaning forward on the table. ‘You promised me you’ll sing.’

‘Did I?’

‘Yes you did. I can’t throw this opportunity away, seeing you make a fool of yourself in front of a packed club.’

‘Hmmm’, Stiles hums, smiling. ‘Are you sure that’s what’s going to happen?’

‘You don’t sing.’, Lydia raises an eyebrow. ‘I would have known if you sang.’

Stiles and Scott share a look, but it’s gone as soon as it started.

‘Are you willing to bet on that?’, Stiles grins, while Scott giggles.

‘I am willing to bet the 20 bucks in my new wallet’, she says with a grin thrown at Derek, ‘that if you go on that stage and sing a song of my choice, of course, nobody will applaud you. Except us, that is.’

‘Okay’, Stiles nods. ‘I can work with that. It’s on. What song does my ginger queen demand?’

Lydia giggles. ‘Miley Cyrus. And don’t even think about denying it, I’ve heard you humming _We can’t stop_ more than once.’

Everybody laughs, including Stiles.

‘Well’, he shrugs. ‘I’ve only listened to that song once. I’m humming a Bastille cover of it. It’s way better, clearly. But they’re British, and I can’t seem to stop singing it in their British accent. And I can’t do a British accent, it’s awful. So that actually helps your case, I guess.’

‘Great.’, Lydia grins, quite predatory. ‘Do they have it here? Go request it.’

Stiles gets up and walks towards the DJ, while Scott leans back and gets out a puff of air, looking smugly at Lydia.

‘You know’, he says, ‘it’s quite astonishing how many things you don’t know about Stiles.’

‘Astonishing?’, Isaac giggles, but everyone ignores him.

‘I know Stiles just fine’, Lydia says, a bit defensive.

‘You know how Stiles thinks, how he reacts.’, Scott nods. ‘You know some of the things he’s been through, you know the kind of things he likes, but there are so many things you have absolutely no idea about.’

Lydia doesn’t get to answer, because Stiles comes back. He picks up on the tension instantly.

‘What happened?’

‘Nothing, buddy’, Scott knocks their shoulders together.

‘In how many songs are you on?’, Lydia asks.

‘Next one.’

‘How?’, Derek frowns. ‘The people at the next table are complaining about how they have to wait 20 songs.’

Stiles smiles. ‘I’ve been here before. The DJ’s a friend’.

‘Oh?’, Lydia raises an eyebrow. ‘And how do you know him? He seems way out of your league.’

‘So are you.’, Stiles points a finger. ‘And yet, here I am.’

‘And you know him how?’

The music stops and Stiles grins at Lydia. ‘That’s my queue.’

He swaggers to the stage, quite literally (to Derek’s annoyance), winking at the DJ as he goes. He picks up the microphone in his left hand and when the song starts playing, he taps the beat with the other hand on his leg .

Derek’s thrown back for a second, because he heard the song that starts playing on an Eminem album, it’s definitely not Miley Cyrus. But after a few seconds, Stiles starts [singing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pZi7CXE2ac).

_Red cups and sweaty bodies everywhere  
Hands in the air like we don’t care._

As he sings, Stiles moves around, of course he does. Stiles can never stand still. So he moves his right hand to the rhythm, fingers flexing on an off, wrist moving in fluid motions. Stiles shakes his head and gently moves his hips, but he doesn’t move around the stage.

And his voice. Derek is mesmerized by his voice. The cover definitely helps, it’s a lot more soft than the original. Derek’s heard that on the radio, but what Stiles is singing now is absolutely nothing like it.

_We can’t stop. We won’t stop._   
_Can’t you see it’s we who own the night?_   
_Can’t you see it’s we who bout’ the life?_

Stiles' voice is incredibly soft. It’s manly, a low tone, and it sounds strong, like it could get even stronger, but it’s so soft, it makes Derek melt in his seat. And Stiles was right, he is singing with a slight English accent. But it’s not bad, it makes everything sound even more fluid. It has a calming effect over Derek, and he suddenly doesn’t want this moment to end.

_We run things that don’t run  
We don’t take nothing from nobody._

Stiles isn’t looking at them. He’s not looking at the screen that’s displaying the lyrics either. He’s looking down, or he has his eyes closed. Sometimes, when he has to sing a longer note, he bends his head back, and Derek is left staring at Stiles’ neck. He’s wearing a v-neck t-shirt and Derek can see his collarbone and a few moles. He fights the urge he gets, to count them all, to see how far down his body they get.

Derek’s pulled out of his thoughts when Stiles sings some random _yeah_ s. They’re longer and so, a bit harder to sing that the rest of the song. But Stiles sings them perfectly, not once breaking stride. Derek realizes that he can’t really hear anything else except for Stiles’ voice. He looks around and sees that most of the other people in the club have stopped talking. They’re all looking at Stiles, smiling or lipsinging to the lyrics. Derek gets a sharp wave of jealousy through him. It’s gone when Stiles smirks a bit, still not looking at anyone, and starts singing Billy Ray Cyrus.

_Don’t break his heart._   
_His achy, breaky heart._   
_I just don’t think he’ll understand._

Derek starts laughing, he has to. Because he’s pretty sure that song came out along the time Stiles was born. The only reason Derek knows this is because his mother used to like listening to Billy Ray. Stiles spares a glance towards Derek and sees him laughing. It melts Derek’s heart a bit more, when he sees him return the smile, in the middle of a line.

Stiles sings that piece a couple of times, growing stronger each time. And Derek was right, he does have a strong voice. And it still sounds pretty incredible. Derek can’t say anything. Nor does he want to, he just wants to listen to Stiles sing. Somehow, he made this song more sexual than it is. Because Stiles is smiling, and moving his hips and his hands. Shutting his eyes tight, or keeping his mouth in that perfect, sinful _o_ shape. And Derek can’t believe he never thought about Stiles like this before.

_And we can’t stop._   
_And we won’t stop._   
_Can’t you see it’s we who own the night?_   
_Can’t you see it’s we who bout’ the life?_   
_And we can’t stop._   
_And we won’t stop._   
_We run things that don’t run._   
_We don’t take nothing from nobody._

The last time Stiles sings that, he looks towards their table. He smiles, but when his eyes settle on Lydia, he smirks and it’s so cocky and he looks like an utter douche and Derek cannot hold the laughter in.

When Stiles is done, everybody in the club starts applauding and cheering. Derek finally manages to look around the table and he sees Scott applauding forcefully, while laughing at Lydia. Lydia, who looks shocked, to say the least. Her mouth is slightly open and she’s still staring at Stiles. Isaac and Allison and supporting similar expressions, but they do manage to clap their hands. Derek would applaud too, but it seems Lydia took his hand sometime during the song. He tries to pull it back, but she won’t let him.

He looks up, expecting to see Stiles on the other side of the table, but he hasn’t left the stage. The DJ is up with him now, and he puts a hand around his waist and kisses Stiles’ cheek. They’re both grinning.

‘Yo yo yo!’, the guy says, and Derek rolls his eyes. ‘For those of you who aren’t regulars, this is Stiles. And me and Stiles, we have a deal. He lost a bet some time ago and now, every time he goes up on this stage, he has to sing two songs.’ He raises his eyebrows expectantly, moving his hand a bit under Stiles’ shirt. Derek frowns.

But then, Stiles nods and looks right at Derek. ‘[Bastille, The Silence](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00p2FW7ZLVo)’

A shiver runs down Derek’s back, as the DJ gets off the stage, grinning. He doesn’t know the song, but his heart is beating a bit faster now.  

The songs that starts is more upbeat and begins with some ... yodels? What even are those called, Derek thinks, absently. They're these long _uh_ sounds. But Stiles doesn’t sing those. When he starts singing the actual lyrics, it’s a lot more forceful than the song before.

_Tell me a piece of your history  
That you’re proud to call your own_

He’s still not looking at anyone. He’s still holding the mic with his left hand and moving his right hand around. But, this feels a lot more personal than before. It feels like this song means something. This isn’t sexy, this isn’t flirty, this is a statement. This feels like a declaration.

_Now you’ve hit a wall and it’s not your fault  
My dear, my dear, my dear._

Derek feels like Stiles is singing to him, even though he’s not looking at him. But fucking hell, does it match.

_It is not enough to be dumbstruck._   
_Can you fill the silence?_   
_You must have the words in that head of yours._

Derek realizes he’s been an idiot. He cares about Stiles. More than he should, more than the others. Differently than the others.

As the song hits it’s half, the yodels from the beginning start again. This time, Stiles sings them. And he sings them good, not once dropping his voice. His head is tilted back, his eyes are shut and his neck is bared. Derek’s breath catches and he can’t look away, even if he wanted to. After that, Stiles looks right at Derek as he sings the rest of the song.

_Tell me a piece of your history_   
_That you’ve never said out loud._   
_Pull the rug beneath my feet_   
_And shake me to the ground._

Lydia’s still holding Derek’s hand. He squeezes it.

_Now you’ve hit a wall and you’re lost for words._   
_My dear, my dear, oh dear._   
_It is not enough to be dumbstruck._   
_Can you fill the silence?_   
_You must have the words in that head of yours._   
_Can you feel the silence?_   
_I can't take it anymore._

Derek feels like the biggest idiot alive at this point. How could he even consider anyone else? It’s Stiles. It’s just Stiles. He doesn’t want anybody else. Not now, not ever. Not anymore.

_If you give it a name, than it’s already won.  
What you good for, what you good for?_

Derek shouldn’t have said no to Stiles. He trusts Stiles, more than he trusts himself. And if he said they could work, Derek isn’t in the position to think other wise.

He wants him. ‘Fuck’, Derek whispers, and gets his hand out of Lydia’s grasp.

When he finishes the song, Stiles gets another round of applause and he smiles at random people as he makes his way back towards the table. He sits down and grins, Scott patting him on the back playfully, even though he hasn’t really stopped laughing.

Stiles raises an eyebrow and stretches his hand towards Lydia, palm up. She just stares at it for a couple of seconds, but then she visibly shakes herself and hands him a 20.

‘So’, she says, eventually. ‘Any other life altering secrets you’ve kept from me?’

Stiles smiles. ‘Well. I don’t watch Harry Potter at Christmas, I watch the Pokemon movies. And I have 5 pairs of pink boxers.’

Derek chokes on his drink.

‘You little piece of shit’, Lydia laughs, throwing a peanut at Stiles. ‘How could you have kept this from us?’

‘You didn’t ask.’, he shrugged.

‘Scott knew. Did he ask?’, she reasoned.

‘Not exactly’, Scott grinned. ‘I heard him in the shower. Then I asked.’

‘So how well do you know the DJ?’, Allison asks, surprising everyone.

Stiles grins at her, even though he blushes a bit. ‘I’ve been coming here for a year and then some.’

‘But you seemed pretty close.’, Lydia narrowed her eyes.

‘Well. Uhm.’, Stiles blushed. ‘A few months ago, he wasn’t sure if he was gay or not. I helped him figure it out.’

‘And is he?’, Lydia says, eyeing the DJ curiously.

‘Oh yeah. Totally. 100%, completely gay, in every way, shape and form.’, Stiles grins.

‘Too much info.’, Derek manages to say.

They spend the rest of the evening like that. Stiles doesn’t sing anymore. But Derek, he finds himself doing exactly what Stiles told him. He kept looking at him, thinking about him. About all the things he’s been through and how they’ve made him the man he is today. About how much Derek likes him, genuinely likes him, about how much he treasures his friendship.

Derek knows he’d do anything for Stiles. He’d take a wolfbane bullet through the heart without thinking about it twice. So why couldn’t he do this for Stiles? And for himself?

Derek left the club that night thinking about how he could fix it.

 

_DAY 5+1_

It’s 8 pm when Derek pulls over to the Stilinski house, the next evening. He gets out of his car and takes a deep breath. He hasn’t slept that much, and he spent all his day thinking about Stiles. Only about Stiles. In the end, it was seeing Laura’s picture what did it, what made him reach his decision.

Derek realized that Laura would have loved Stiles. She would have loved him for his brains, for his humor, no matter how sick it is, for his sarcasm and his wit. She would have enjoyed his clumsiness and would have teased him about his fashion sense. They would’ve spent hours talking about movies and tv shows, about books and celebrity gossip. But most of all, Laura would have loved Stiles because of the way he takes care of Derek. And because of how much Derek cares about him.

The Sheriff gets out of the house in full uniform, just as Derek picks up a bag full of chocolate he got from the gas station.

‘Business or pleasure?’, Stiles’ father asks with raised eyebrows.

Derek winces. ‘It’s not business.’

The Sheriff’s sight zeroes in on the bag of chocolate and his eyes turn soft. ‘I see’, is what he says.

Then, he takes the bag out of Derek’s hand, reaching in and taking a Snickers. With a grin, he gives the bag back.

‘The door’s open, he’s in his room. I won’t be back until tomorrow morning, so if you’re staying, you’re staying for breakfast.’

The Sheriff gets in his cruiser and drives away, leaving Derek breathing a little heavily in his wake. He shakes himself off and goes into the house, towing off his shoes and hanging his jacket, locking the front door behind him.

Stiles’ door is closed and Derek can hear him typing on the other side. So he knocks as softly as he can.

‘What the fuck?’, Stiles mutters, but he makes his way towards the door nonetheless. He stares at Derek for a few seconds, blinking softly.

‘Your father let me in.’

‘Whoa, déjà vu.’, Stiles says, making Derek frown. ‘Uhm, forget about it’, he goes on. ‘You’re using the door. And you’re knocking. That’s… Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s a first.’

‘I’ve used the door before’, Derek puffs his chest.

‘Yeah, sure. Never ever have you ever knocked, though. Or took of your shoes. And jacket, I assume.’, Stiles frowned.

‘Yup. I’m all grown up now’, Derek deadpans, making Stiles choke on a laugh. ‘May I come in as a reward for my achievements or do I have to break in via window again?’

Stiles rolls his eyes and steps out of the way, making his way towards his bed. Before he gets to sit down, Derek throws the bag of chocolate at him. He catches it and eyes it with a raised eyebrow, but then he grins and bounces on his bed, leaning his back against the headrest, sitting cross-legged and Derek has to smile when he sees the Batman socks.

‘Is this an apology or a bribe?’, Stiles asks as he opens a Twix.

Derek sits next to him on the bed, close but not getting into his personal space. ‘I think it’s both.’

‘Oh?’, Stiles asks, clearly amused, even if his mouth is full.

‘Well’, Derek sighs. He stalls by leaning on the bed, sitting on his back and stretching his hands under his head. He crosses one leg over the other, pushing some dirty clothes that Stiles left on the floor.

‘I think’, he says eventually, purposely staring at the ceiling, even though he knows Stiles is looking at him. ‘I think I have to apologize.’

‘What for?’, Stiles asks softly, putting the sweets on the nightstand.

‘You know I trust you, we’re pack.’

Stiles snorts. ‘Dude, you trusted me long before we were pack.’

Derek smiles. ‘That’s true. Even if I didn’t realize it, it’s true. So, now. I have to tell you how sorry I am for not trusting you the other day. When you told me that… uh. That we could do it, we could work. Or something.’

He bites his lip. Stiles is silent, but his heart beat isn’t. Derek sneaks a glance at him and he was right, Stiles is staring at him. But he can’t read his expression. Derek is both scared and excited about this fact.

‘You said the candy’s also a bribe’, Stiles says, after a few moments. ‘What do you want?’

‘I’m not sure’, Derek says softly. He hears Stiles sigh, so he rushes to continue, turning his head to look at the boy. ‘We could have dinner tomorrow. Maybe a movie? Or we could go to that comic exhibit you’ve wanted to see in the next town, or wherever it was.’

Stiles blinks. ‘And after that?’

Derek smiles. ‘I assume we’d have to endure a couple of awkward conversations with the pack. Especially Scott’, he groans. ‘And a lot of teasing probably. And your father said I could stay for breakfast, so I assume different meals with him would happen from time to time. It’s his birthday next month, right? Maybe we can find a baseball game close by to take him to.’

Stiles is silent for a while. Derek gives him time to process everything, he knows his mind is going a mile a minute. So he closes his eyes and starts counting Stiles’ heartbeats.

He gets to 60 when he feels Stiles moving. He doesn’t open his eyes and he involuntary holds his breath.

Stiles kisses him. There’s soft lips on Derek’s, and he breaths again, a sharp intake that makes Stiles smile. Derek wants to chase the smugness out of him, so he puts a hand around Stiles’ neck, drawing him closer. He makes a little whining noise and puts a hand on Derek’s chest to steady himself.

Once they both find comfortable positions, Stiles lying half on top on him, his left hand clutching to Derek’s shirt, and his right in the wolf’s left, they kiss for what seems like ages. It’s soft at first, borderline cute, but then it grows curious and both of them get more confidence.

Derek hasn’t felt this good in a long time. And just the thought that he has to remember all of the things that Stiles likes, like Derek biting his lower lip, or running his fingers over Derek's stubble. He has to remember it all, because this isn’t the last time Derek will get to do this. And that realization just makes him bring Stiles closer.

When Stiles pulls himself away from Derek’s mouth, he doesn’t go far. He just closes his eyes and snuggles against Derek’s chest. He makes this odd sound, that sounds like a weird purr. It makes Derek laughs into Stiles’ hair.

‘So dad expects you for breakfast, huh?’, Stiles whispers after a while, absently running his fingers under Derek’s shirt, on his waist.

‘He said he’d be okay with it.’

‘So you’re spending the night.’, Stiles smirks.

‘If you’re okay with that. I’m tired, I haven’t really slept last night.’

Stiles opens his mouth to answer, but his phone ringing interrupts him. He groans and gets out of bed, moving to the desk. He grins when he picks up the phone.

‘Hey, Scott!’, he answers a bit too forcefully, making Derek roll his eyes.

‘Stiles! You wanna come over so I can beat your ass at Portal again? I'll even order pizza.’

‘I would buddy, but I’m kinda busy right now.’

‘Oh?’, Derek can almost see Scott frowning. It makes him giggle.

‘Yeah, I kinda have a date.’, Stiles grins, winking at Derek. ‘Well, sort of. An inside date. An… I’m gonna cook some dinner and we’ll maybe watch a movie type of date.’

‘Nice.’, Scott chuckles. ‘May I ask who with?’

‘You have three guesses’, Stiles grins, making his way towards the bed and straddling Derek’s hips. He surprises him, so the wolf lets out a whispered yelp, his hands automatically lifting to Stiles’ hips and back, steadying him.

‘It’s Derek, isn’t it?’, Scott says in a resigned tone, after a few beats.

Stiles giggles, but he doesn’t say anything.

Derek clears his throat. ‘Hey, Scott.’

‘Holy shit, it’s really Derek!’, Scott shrieks, the thump sound coming from the phone letting them know that their Alpha fell off his bed.

Stiles and Derek start laughing, pressing their foreheads together. Derek kisses Stiles again, because he can and because he wants to, and Stiles hangs up without saying anything more to Scott. 


End file.
